City voters will decide Nov. 2 whether to continue fluoridating the water supply.
Measure A seeks to remove fluoride from the water, which would also affect thousands of water-users in the unincorporated area. County residents cannot vote because the city owns the water service.
Crescent City resident Katherine Kelly is one of the citizens spearheading the effort to pass Measure A.
Kelly said she became involved in putting the measure on the ballot after conducting her own research on fluoride and reading studies online.
“I care about the community,” Kelly said. “My concern is the safety (of fluoride).”
Kelly said she was also concerned about her own health and has been researching the effects of fluoride for seven years.
“I have a thyroid condition and in doing research I found out (fluoride is) bad for the thyroid,” Kelly said.
She said she is disappointed with the City Council and other government officials for not adequately researching water fluoridation.
“They are protecting policy and parroting political agendas,” Kelly said.
Crescent City dentist Michelle Arvonen has joined the effort to defeat Measure A and preserve fluoridation.
Arvonen said despite her shyness, she felt the need to take a stand against the measure.
“It’s my profession and it’s an extremely important issue,” Arvonen said. “I care about people and making sure they have healthy mouths.”
Arvonen said she sees the positive effects of fluoridated water on a daily basis. She said patients who are not raised on fluoridated water suffer from more cavities and root canals.
Arvonen said she is frustrated by the opponents of fluoride, who she said spread false information.
“When people are out there with a fear factor, it’s just wrong,” Arvonen said. “You can’t just have people spreading a bunch of fear.”
Both women agreed educating oneself about the facts of community water fluoridation is important.
The Triplicate asked Kelly and Arvonen to each recommend a few websites where people could learn more about water fluoridation.
Kelly recommended these sites:
Arvonen recommended these sites:
• cdph.ca.gov, type “fluoridation by public water systems” into the search field and click on the first link.
• ada.org, type “fluoridation facts” into the search field and click on the first link.
• cdc.gov, type “fluoridation” into the search field and click on the first link.
• cda.org, type “fluoride” into the search field and click on the first link.
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